Process of dyeing.



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EDWARD LODGE AND JAMES MORGAN EVANS, OF HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND, ASSIGN- ORS TO LODGE-EVANS NEW YORK CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- TION OF NEW YORK.

No Drawing. v

1 b all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that we, EDWARD LODGE and Janus Mouser: Evans, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, and residing at lliuldersfield, in the county of York, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes of Dyeing, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the application of sulfur dye-stuffs for dyeing animal textile fibers and fabrics, (wool, hair, feathers, furs and silks) also artificial silks, and union goods composed of a mixture of ani-, mal and vegetable fibers and artificial silks, ('17. 0. animal fibers, mixed with cotton, flax, jute, rhea, ramie,.china grass or hemp).

The usual manner of applying sulfurcolors to vegetable fibers and fabrics is to reduce and dissolve the color with the aid of sodium sulfid. This method is however not applicable for dyeing animal" fibers or fabrics containing animal fibers, owing to the strong alkalinity of the bath dye-liquors.

The applicants have found that, if the sulfur colors be reduced totheir leuco-compounds by means of a sulfid of an alkalimetal in presence of a normal sulfite of an ally'ali-metal. c. g. NA SQ, or K 80 and the excess of sodium or potassium alkali re moved, or exchanged for the weaker alkali, ammonia, animal fibers can thereby be dyed without injury.

The action of the normal sulfite of an alkali-metal appears to beat least two fold. It converts any free sulfur present in the color into thiosulfates andchanges any polysulfids into thiosulfates and normal sullids and secondly it dissolves (renders soluble) thl coloring matter itself.

The dye bath is most 'onveniently prepared by first boiling toget ier the color and sulfite of sodium or potassium, and water, then adding sulfid of sodium and stirringcarefully until reduction and solution are complete.

The sodium or potassium sulfid reacts with water to give the caustic alkali. sodium or potassium lrvdroxid, and the correspond- Specification of Letters Patent.

I union Patented May 2, ll'tllti.

Application filed December 26, 1914. Serial No. 879,210.

ing hydrosulfid. These "reactions may be expressed by the following equations:

Na ,S+.H,O:NaSH+NaOl-I I{2S+H20:I:SH+I{OH This concentrated solution of the prepared dye is added to the dye bath, containing the requisite quantity of water which has previously been heated to the required temperature and to which the neutral annnonium salthas been added.

Suitable ammonium salts are the chlorid,

normal sulfate and acetate.

When a solution of sodium or potassium is treated with an ammonium salt, the sodium or potassium is converted into the new tral salt of these metals and free ammonia is liberated, as expressed by the following equations NaSH-l-NHfilzNtrCl-l-NILSH Naori+Nrnc1=Nao1+Nrnon -10 grains normal ammonium sulfate.

The temperature of the bath is varied according to the materials to be dyed. For wool, or the wool part of union goods a temperature of 7080 C. is serviceable; for artificial silk and the cotton part of goods a lower temperature will suffice. I

Asan example wool will be worked in the dye solution at HP-80 C. For unions of cotton and wool the cotton may be dyed at a temperature up to about 40 C. on raising the temperature up to TO SO the wool is then dyed. ()r the order may be reversed. The addition of (ilaubers salt or all presence of a sulfite of an alkali metal and a neutral ammonium salt is addegl t0 the 1,-

batli substantially as described.

EDVARD LODGE. JAMES MORGAN EVANS. \Vitnesses:

WM. RAMSDEN, ARNOLD MELLOR. 

